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One of the issues that I rarely see brought up with in topics that cover the choice between HTML vs Flash is the issue of purpose.

To answer the question: HTML or Flash? One simply has to look at newspapers and glossy brochures/catalogues (or advertisements).

If the purpose of your project is to deliver information, and a significant amount of textual content, then you should use the optimum tool for that purpose: HTML was designed from the very beginning to be a means of sharing information. Basically, just like a newspaper.

Flash, on the other hand, was primarily designed as presentational technology - hence, if your site is going to contain a minimal amount of text, but a large amount of images, then Flash is probably a better idea, due in part to how well it can handle (e.g. compress) high-resolution images and movies. Basically, just like a brochure.

That kind of thinking extends to each technology's respective web application approach: use AJAX on your HTML if the bulk of your content is information meant to be shared. However, if the bulk of your content is mainly product images and/or videos, or a gallery for design, photography, and 3D - then AJAX would be a debatable choice, as the number of times the site would need to load the visual content would significantly be detrimental to the site's user experience quotient.

Which leads me back to the author's post: If your intention and purpose is to produce content that is text-informaion heavy, and is intended for SEO-friendliness - then use the right tool for the job: HTML.